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Calculation of a gigantic upward atmospheric discharge, accompanying optical phenomena, and penetrating radiations. II. Numerical simulation results

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Abstract

Gigantic upward atmospheric discharges have been numerically simulated. The space-time distributions of the self-consistent electric field strength and charged particle densities have been obtained. The brightness, color, and evolution in the space and time of fluorescence above a thundercloud, which agree with the data of field observations of such high-altitude optical phenomena as blue jets and red sprites, have been calculated. It has been indicated that large duration of blue jets results from the emission of a decaying ion plasma of the air. The yields of hard gamma rays and neutrons, generated by upward discharges, have been calculated.

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Correspondence to L. P. Babich.

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Original Russian Text © L.P. Babich, A.Yu. Kudryavtsev, M L. Kudryavtseva, I.M. Kutsyk, 2008, published in Geomagnetizm i Aeronomiya, 2008, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 392–406.

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Babich, L.P., Kudryavtsev, A.Y., Kudryavtseva, M.L. et al. Calculation of a gigantic upward atmospheric discharge, accompanying optical phenomena, and penetrating radiations. II. Numerical simulation results. Geomagn. Aeron. 48, 378–391 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793208030122

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793208030122

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